


take a break

by civillove



Series: plans wrapped in rubber bands [28]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23216293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove
Summary: anon request: Soooo, I know that you are technically done with “Plans Wrapped in Rubber Bands,” but I have a fix request.... 😬 I feel like Beth & Rio work so hard, don’t they deserve a vacation... together. I would love to see how you write them just hanging out, getting tipsy/drunk together, doing partner/couple things... PLZZZZZZZZZ 😩--fits into 'plans wrapped in rubber bands' universe
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: plans wrapped in rubber bands [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1347943
Comments: 14
Kudos: 120





	take a break

“We should go on a vacation.”

She can feel the face that Rio’s giving her even though she’s not looking him, that soft head-tilt kinda thing he does when she says something a little crazy. But he can’t blame her for asking, can he? Their shared business has been up and running, pretty seamlessly she might add, for a while now with no major hiccups. Doesn’t that deserve a little celebration? A little time off?

“Do I even wanna know what you have in mind?”

Beth shrugs, turning her shopping cart down a sweets aisle. They should probably walk through here as quickly as possible before—

“Hey!”

Rio at least has the decency to look sheepish, a smirk she knows far too well tugging the corners of his mouth, “What?” He drops Oreos into the cart. “I got needs.”

She rolls her eyes and tries to take them out but he captures her wrist and gently moves her until he’s pressing up against her, blocking her from access to the cart. She feels herself pouting but that only makes him kiss the corner of her mouth.

“Stop,” Her voice is nowhere near as insisting as she wants it to be. “The last thing we need is Oreos.”

“Says the woman who ate an entire box of Thin Mints from the Girl Scouts the other night.”

She opens her mouth, poking his chest, “Do I air all _your_ dirty laundry out?”

He smiles, taking the hand that’s on his chest and kissing her knuckles before moving a step back. “We’re keepin’ the Oreos,” He sticks his hands in his jean jacket pockets, “And we’re not takin’ a vacation.”

Beth scrunches her nose after him as he walks down the aisle and puts the Oreos back when he’s not looking.

\--

Rio rubberbands another stack of cash, flipping through it with nibble fingers. Sometimes Beth likes to watch him work, regardless that they’re partners now, she knows there’s still so much to learn from him.

And, well, he’s also sitting in a black t-shirt that’s showing off a decent amount of arm muscles and he’s wearing three rings today instead of one. She’s a woman of simple pleasures.

“If you spent the time workin’ instead of starin’ at me,” He pauses, picking up a few stacks of bills to put into a duffle, “We’d be done already.”

She smiles and taps her pen off her binder, “How much was that?”

“Ten grand.” He leans back against the couch, stretching his arms up over his head before rubbing the back of his neck. They’ve been at this for a few hours; the sun is shining brightly through her curtains and warming the carpet of her living room.

Beth scribbles the number down before closing the book, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. “You want a drink?”

He hums in response, which just tells her yes, and she gets up from the couch.

“How about something a little different?” She calls over her shoulder, reaching into the high cabinets to pull down pineapple and coconut liquor. Beth chews on her lower lip, running her thumb over the label—she hasn’t had these in a glass since…

Was it three summers ago when she had that girl’s night? Jesus. She really needs to take more time for herself to relax.

Rio comes up behind her after she takes two glasses out of the dishwasher and fills them with ice. His face scrunches up like he’s sucking on a lemon when he picks up the coconut bottle.

“You’re gonna rot your teeth with this shit.”

“It’s summer, we’re not going to a beach any time soon so I’m bringing it to me.” She smiles as she turns, mixing the two liquors together with practiced ease. “If you’re nice to me I’m sure I can find you a drink umbrella in one of these drawers.”

He snorts, leaning against the counter, watching her stir the drinks with an iced teaspoon. She slides the glass over to him and he shakes his head, taking it from her but not sipping on it. He runs his thumb over the rim of the glass and lets his eyes gaze over her, following the long lines of her body.

“Oh come on, don’t make me drink alone.”

“You’re gonna get sloshed.”

Beth leans her elbows on the counter and raises an eyebrow, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Who’s going to count my money?” He tuts but he’s taking a sip and making the most _ridiculous_ face afterwards.

“ _Our_ money,” She counters and digs through the drawer at her hip. “We’re done working for the day. Enjoy the beach mood.”

Rio mutters something under his breath but she can’t understand him and she doesn’t ask. Instead she focuses on finding the pack of unused drink umbrellas that she swears she remembers being stashed in here amongst washcloths and tea towels.

“This is like Coney Island.” He says after a moment when she makes a noise of success and finds the umbrellas. She opens a yellow one and puts it in his glass.

“Don’t be mean,” She takes a long sip of her drink and sighs out of her nose, “Apparently with all our money, this is the only beach we can afford.”

Rio draws his lower lip into his mouth for a moment and clasps her elbow, pulling her closer and gaining her attention from picturing ocean waves. She looks at him and he waits until their eyes meet before he cups her face, his thumb running along her jawline.

“You know why we can’t stop right?”

She bites the inside of her cheek, not wanting to ruin the mood but nods softly anyways. She won’t be able to avoid this conversation when she’s made such a big deal about taking a break.

“This isn’t somethin’ you can clock-in and out of when you want.”

Beth lets out a long sigh and lets her hand rest on Rio’s waist, her thumb tracing circular patterns into the fabric of his shirt. Sometimes she slips up and under so she can feel the warmth of his skin.

“I know.” She holds his gaze for a long moment so he knows that she’s serious, that she’s in this one-hundred percent and that there’s no room for him to doubt her. “I’m…mostly kidding about the beach.”

He smiles gently and nods, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

This does not mean she stops trying.

\--

Rio leaves for a little to go pick up Marcus from a playdate and take him to his mother’s. Luckily Dean’s got the kids, has taken them to the pool for the afternoon and they’ll probably end up getting pizza after that. She has the time.

She sets up the backyard with a few things: definitely a pitcher of that too-sweet mixture that reminds her of days where she didn’t have to worry about red or green rubberbands, a few towels and she yanks the blow-up pool from the attic to fill up. She’s just lucky it doesn’t have any holes in it.

It takes a while for the pool to fill up, even with a motor; can’t even imagine blowing air into this whole thing with only the oxygen in her lungs. Once that’s set, she leaves the hose running while she runs upstairs to change. She’s only got a few bathing suits, nothing too fancy, but there’s one she really enjoys wearing—even as a mom.

She pulls on a red one-piece number with white-polka dots. It reminds her of some sort of classy forties pin-up style model, with an accentuated bust and ties around her neck. It slides over her curves, hugs her perfectly, and while she wants to be a little ridiculous and put on a pair of heels, she knows better than to try and walk in the grass with those on.

Beth grabs her sheer white cover-up and slips it over her shoulders, remembering her sunglasses at the last moment before she heads back downstairs and outside. The sun is blaring, humidity high and she’s forgotten the sunscreen near the sink inside. It’s going to be another hot one today, high nineties with little clouds. While she’s remembered to bring a case of water outside in the cooler to drink occasionally with her alcohol, she’s gotta go back and get that sunscreen or she’ll crisp up like an egg on the sidewalk.

Beth bites down on her lower lip, stepping inside the pool as it fills, the ice-cold water instantly sticking to her shins and making her sigh outloud. She reaches for the hose and turns it off when it’s high enough and lifts her head when she hears the backdoor open.

Rio steps onto the patio, amusement dancing across his face when he sees her. He closes the door and walks across the lawn to meet her, his eyes drinking her in as he follows the red outline of her bathing suit.

“Someone’s been busy.”

It feels like ancient history between them sometimes and yet she seems to never get used to the way he looks at her, always trying to dig under her skin, live between her bones. His eyes travel like his hands would, caressing every part of her. She feels heat gather in her stomach and bloom outward; down, into her veins, sweat kissing the back of her neck.

“You gonna get in?” She asks, smiling a little as she slips her shawl off to put aside.

Rio’s quiet, taking another step towards her, fingers gathering into his palms because he wants to touch her but can’t quite reach her. He looks down into the pool a moment and follows her long legs up. She watches him a moment, swishing her leg in the water and can’t fathom how he’s wearing jeans in this weather. Does the man own a pair of shorts?

“Water’s nice.” She tempts, considering splashing him but not wanting to piss him off.

“Don’t got a suit on me, ma.” He sticks his hands in his pockets, eyes a shade darker than usual, sweat gathering over his forehead and bird tattoo.

Beth walks over to him, her hands slipping onto his waist and resting on his hips, “Who said anything about a suit? Take off your pants.”

Rio smiles a little, his hands moving to squeeze her own before he toes off his shoes and kicks them aside. His shirt goes next, her eyes drinking in the littering of tattoos he has like beauty marks on his skin. He takes his time removing his pants, knowing exactly what he’s doing, drawing them off his body in slow, languid motions.

She tugs him into the pool when he’s in his boxer briefs, pulling him close and lifting herself up on her toes to kiss him. His body temperature is almost too warm in this heat as he wraps his arms around her, the kiss a pleasant mess of tongue and teeth. His hand slides down her body, gripping her ass—

And then she realizes her mistake because all he’s doing is distracting her.

Rio picks her up and moves quickly, turning their positions until he’s able to dunk her completely underwater. She gasps rather audibly when she comes up, the ice water a shock to her system and he grins at her, kneeling next to her and attempting to move her wet hair out of her eyes.

“My bad, lost my footing.”

She glares at him, splashing him directly in his chest and is semi-pleased when she gets the lower half of his face. “You’ll pay for that later.”

Rio stands, pulling his briefs up so that they don’t hang so low on his hips. “Thought you knew better than to threaten me at this point in our partnership.”

He leaves the pool to grab the drinks Beth’s made on the picnic table, umbrellas and all and brings them back over to the pool. He glides down until he’s sitting next to her, against one of the corner edges that provide more support than the sides.

Taking another sip of the concoction, he tilts his head so she knows to move in-between his legs. She huffs out a sound like she doesn’t want to but finds herself moving after dipping her head back into the water so that her hair isn’t completely crazy. She leans back against his chest and Rio places a kiss on her shoulder, handing her the tropical drink.

Beth takes a few sips, her eyes fluttering along her yard, a gentle breeze working its way through the trees and making them rustle with summer music. She finds her head tilting back until it’s on Rio’s shoulder; solid and warm like he always is.

“Thanks for…entertaining all this,” She says after a moment. “I really needed it.”

He hums, she can feel the vibrations in his chest against her back. “I know,” Rio pauses, tilting his head so he can kiss her jawline and get her attention. She turns a little to look at him, “One of these days we’ll go wherever you want to.”

Her eyes search his, trying to find anything that might tell her that he’s teasing her. But he’s not. “Promise?”

Rio smiles softly and nods, “Yeah, I promise.”

She kisses him; he tastes like pineapples and holds onto that vow for as long as she needs to.

\--

Beth totally gets sunburned and Rio doesn’t say ‘I told you so’, gently _tsks_ -ing instead when he’s rubbing aloe onto her shoulders. She winces and makes a soft whining noise that definitely makes the corners of his lips turn up. He kisses the back of her head and says that he’ll make her ‘aloe ice-cubes’, something he’s done for Marcus a few times.

Regardless of the pain, Beth knows that this small piece of paradise was completely worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! sometimes it's really nice to write something so fluffy with the season we got going on. i'm around at blainesebastian.tumblr.com if you wanna talk brio or drop a request!


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